Key to Her Heart: A Fragmentary Passage
by The Blue Time Ranger
Summary: Maylin and Haruka have their own adventures to go on in the year between their journeys, but they have no clue that they're being watched from beyond by a strange figure. Could this be the precursor to Organization XIII? Did Izanami-no-Mikoto have sympathizers who wish to undo her defeat at Nick's hands? Or is this a brand new evil, simply waiting to make its move?
1. Promises to Keep

"Ah, it's a beautiful day!"

Haruka Rose just looked at her partner in disbelief. "Maylin, I don't think there even _is_ night or day in the Lanes Between."

Maylin Rae just huffed. "Well, excuse me for trying to lighten the mood."

Though Maylin's tone of voice implied she felt like she'd been insulted, Haruka could easily see the smile forming on Maylin's face. She knew that Maylin never held a grudge against people she considered her friends.

Sensing that all was forgiven (that was just how Maylin was), Haruka returned to the controls of their personal vessel, the Gummi Ship, created by themselves out of gummi blocks infused with the same dimensional traveling power as the Heart of Candracar itself, allowing the ship to travel to many different worlds via the Lanes Between.

It had been six months since Maylin, Haruka, and their new friend Nick Kelly had saved the multiverse from Izanami-no-Mikoto, a mad goddess with dark designs on all the worlds. Though a great sacrifice had been made, the trio was able to overcome Izanami-no-Mikoto and seal off Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all worlds, so it could not be overrun by darkness.

Nick had returned home to Heatherfield to resume his life there, and Maylin and Haruka had decided to continue searching for their own worlds, which had been consumed by darkness and restored upon Izanami-no-Mikoto's demise.

"This is weird, isn't it?" Haruka quipped.

"What, that it's a little trickier finding worlds we've been to before?" Maylin quipped. "Not really a surprise to me. They all went back to their original places, even the worlds that were restored, when we took down that marauder, right?"

"I guess so," Haruka replied. "It's just annoying because we basically lost our bookmarks..."

Before Maylin could reply to that, she noticed something just up ahead.

A large red planet, with cities dotted around the sphere that represented it.

"Hey, I think that's a world we know," Haruka realized as they approached.

"And if it's the one I truly think it is, we're gonna be in for a heck of a ride!" Maylin giggled, remembering exactly what had happened the last time they'd been here. "Well, head pilot, let's get down there so we can kick some faces!"

Haruka smiled at Maylin's enthusiasm. "Roger that, then. Prepare for landing!"

* * *

(In your hand, take this key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me, friend. No ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love. May your hearts be your guiding key.)

 **The Blue Time Ranger** is proud to present:  
 _W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart ~A Fragmentary Passage~  
_ **Story Created:** February 6th, 2017  
 **Story Rated:** T for Teen

 **Story Summary:** Taking place in the year between _Key to Her Heart HD Remix_ and _Key to Her Heart II_ , Maylin and Haruka were definitely on adventures of their own while Nick was renewing his life in Heatherfield. Now is the time to chronicle those adventures and see what Maylin and Haruka were up to during that in-between year. But as they journey on, they have no clue that they're being watched from beyond by a strange figure. Could this be the precursor to Organization XIII? Did Izanami-no-Mikoto have sympathizers who wish to undo her defeat at Nick's hands? Or is this a brand new evil, simply waiting to make its move?

 **Author's Notes:** Ah, yes, here's an idea I've had. Similar in effect to _Xenosaga: The Missing Year_ and inspired by _Birth by Sleep 0.2 A Fragmentary Passage_ , this story is going to chronicle some of the adventures that Maylin and Haruka had during the year between the main stories. An interlude story, if you will.

 **Author's Notes the Second:** Now, you're probably wondering: why did this one get deleted, then replaced by another version, and then THAT one got deleted and this one's coming back? Simple: I wanted to reboot A Fragmentary Passage into something different, but thanks to some constructive criticism by Lonnie Lonnster/AlexisRhodes74, I realized that maybe I shouldn't have made a story out of a KH game I've never played, and there were a LOT of things I did wrong compared to what I usually do in my stories that I lost faith in my reboot, so we're going back to the original idea. Again, thanks for the critique, Lonnie, it really helped!

 **Theme Song Notes:** Since I can't post the opening and ending sequences anymore so as to not get my stuff axed, the opening theme for this story is "Baton Road" by KANA-BOON (the first opening theme to Boruto: Naruto Next Generations), and the ending theme is "Dreamy Journey" by the peggies (the first ending theme to Boruto: Naruto Next Generations).

 **And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to W.I.T.C.H. or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Elisabetta Gnone and Disney if we're talking the cartoon. The only things of this story I DO own are any characters created by yours truly for the story. Any characters or things I don't own, I am just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of my readers. The same goes for any anime, video game, or comic book series that will be represented here. Besides, if I did own W.I.T.C.H., which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?

 **For Today's World:** First stop on our fragmentary passage is the world of Gundams! Specifically, we're jumping into _Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans_ , one of the recent Gundam series. Warning, there will be spoilers for episode 41 in today's passage, because... *sniff* ARGH F*boop* YOU JASLEY *starts crying*

* * *

Episode 1: Promises to Keep

Lafter Frankland smiled as she caught sight of an utterly adorable plush bear sitting on that nearby shelf.

"Oh, I know he'll just _love_ it," Lafter giggled.

After taking the bear from the shelf and paying for it, Lafter walked back outside, contemplating how she would admit her feelings, only to stop her train of thought when she heard two familiar voices.

"It's good to finally be back here, isn't it?"

Lafter looked ahead and saw Maylin and Haruka walking through the hallway, absent-mindedly glancing around the various stores.

"It hasn't been _that_ long, Maylin," Haruka quipped.

"Well, don't blame me, Haruka!" Maylin sputtered. "This _was_ one of the worlds that got swallowed by the darkness before, remember?"

Lafter relaxed a bit, knowing that if they were here, there probably wouldn't be any trouble. _I'm gonna go say hi, as long as they're here,_ Lafter thought.

"Things seem quiet around here," Maylin stated.

"But you know that can change at any moment, right?" Haruka quipped. "I don't think you forgot what happened _last time_ we were here, do you?"

Maylin immediately snapped her gaze back to Haruka. "Um, Haruka, that's something I'm _trying_ to forget. Do you have _any idea_ how _badly_ I just wanted to _murder_ Jasley for what he and his mooks did?! If you hadn't stopped me, I would have honestly _impaled_ that creepshow right then and there!"

"I didn't want you to do something you'd regret," Haruka admitted.

"Ooh, I _hope_ Jasley shows his face again, just so I can rearrange it," Maylin growled. "I made a promise to myself, after all."

Haruka looked at her partner in confusion. "You made a promise to beat Jasley's face in?"

"More than that," Maylin answered. But before she could explain what she meant by that, she was tackled by Lafter, and the two ended up crashing to the ground.

It took a couple seconds for Maylin to register who had glomped her, but once she figured it out, she had no trouble returning the hug.

"Hey, Lafter! How ya been?!" Maylin exclaimed.

"I could ask you two the same thing!" Lafter replied. "What have you guys been up to?"

"Oh, the usual things," Haruka answered. "Wiping out Heartless wherever we go, just keeping the balance in check. Kinda our job."

"Hey, what's with the teddy bear?" Maylin stated, a wide grin forming. "Ooh, I get it. You got it for _him_ , didn't you?"

If Lafter could turn any more red in the face, she may as well have looked like a ripe tomato.

"Well... was it that obvious?" Lafter sighed.

"Hey, I'm the _master_ at noticing things like this," Maylin laughed. "How else do you think I got Nick and Cornelia to finally fess up?"

"Not _all_ of your matchmaking attempts are gonna be as successful, you know," Haruka teased.

"I just wanted to show him how much I appreciate him," Lafter answered. "He's been so sweet to me, especially since..."

Maylin instantly reached out to catch the tear that fell from Lafter's eye. She knew exactly what Lafter must have been thinking, having been there to witness the deaths of Naze and Amida because of Iok's Dáinsleif squadron. It was that particular moment that made Maylin swear to crush Jasley and/or Iok the next time she laid eyes on them.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't wanna," Maylin stated. "I know it still hurts. And I swear to you, Lafter, if I _ever_ lay my eyes on those nutheads while we're here, I'll _personally_ send them straight to hell."

Lafter just smiled, happy to have such wonderful friends.

Unseen to any of them, a shadowed figure was lurking in a far-off hallway, aiming his weapon straight for Lafter.

"Target in sight," the man stated to the person on the other end of his communication.

A strange wind blew through the square a few moments later, causing Haruka to gaze around to search for the source. After a few seconds, she silently gestured to Maylin, then pointed to behind her and Lafter.

Maylin was the first to gaze behind her, only to gasp in shock at the sight.

"LAFTER, GET DOWN!" Maylin screamed, pushing Lafter back down to the floor just in time to avoid the twister-like swarm of Shadows that flew through the air where they had just been.

When Maylin was able to get a good look at their attacker, she saw a gigantic swarm of lowly Shadows (though these ones all had red eyes instead of yellow) spiraling around as if they were a tornado of Heartless, swirling across the ground much like a tornado would.

"Ugh, _this_ thing again?!" Maylin growled, picking both herself and Lafter up while summoning her keyblade, Counterpoint, to her free hand. "Didn't you have enough last time?!"

"Let's just defeat it and get back to Tekkadan, then," Haruka replied, summoning her own keyblade, Rumbling Rose. "Lafter, you may want to get somewhere safe. This could get ugly."

Lafter just nodded, immediately retreating to behind a nearby statue so Maylin and Haruka could face off with the Demon Tower.

The dark twister undulated through the air as it approached the two keyblade wielders, as if appraising its opponents for a moment, before twisting around and lunging for them.

"Back, twister boy! _Force, know my plight! Release the light! THUNDER!_ " Maylin shouted, swinging Counterpoint to strike one of her many spell coins. The coin's ancient text flared brightly, and a bolt of lightning dropped down from the sky to strike the very center of the Demon Tower's mass, spreading out in multiple directions to cause more damage.

With the Demon Tower momentarily stalled, Maylin rushed in to attack, landing three concrete slashes against the twister before completing the combo with her new finishing move, Magic Hour, throwing her hands to the sky and causing a trio of powerful magic orbs to spiral around her and damage the Demon Tower further.

Haruka wasn't far behind Maylin, slashing at the Demon Tower before it could recover, though the twister eventually moved away before diving into the ground and creating pools of darkness in random spots. Every couple seconds, great torrents of those demonic red-eyed Shadows would surge upwards from the pools, forcing Maylin and Haruka to stay on their toes.

After a few more whacks, the Demon Tower suddenly stopped and began to spin around even faster, drawing in other spawning Heartless to increase its mass.

"Oh, forget it!" Maylin exclaimed. "Haruka, can I bust out the super spell already? I've been itching to do it again since we wasted Izanami-no-Mikoto!"

Haruka simply shrugged, even as she dodged the Demon Tower as it flew by her. "Hey, I'm not gonna stop you. Be my guest and fry this thing already."

"YAY!" Maylin laughed before reaching into her pocket and pulling out one of her patented "super spell coins". Most of Maylin's spell coins had either been gifted to her by the Oracle or just found in random places, but these ones were different. These "super spell coins" were developed and created by Maylin herself, having thought of creating a super-powerful spell or two to keep as a trump card against a particularly rough enemy, like the massive spell she had used against Izanami-no-Mikoto not too long ago.

Maylin twirled Counterpoint around in dramatic fashion before tossing the super spell coin into the air. _"Hold fast to the ancient laws, and let magic be my guide! THUNDAJA!"_ Maylin shouted before striking the coin.

A circle of light beams surrounded the Demon Tower as it continued to swirl around. Before it could think to hatch an escape plan, multiple bolts of lightning began to bombard it from all sides before three wicked thunderbolts cracked down all at once, followed by another bombardment of regular lightning bolts, and finishing with one final, bluish-white thunderbolt surging down into the Demon Tower and causing a great explosion of electricity that utterly disintegrated all of the demonic Shadows that made up the Demon Tower.

"And another one bites the dust!" Maylin shouted before falling to her knees to catch her breath. The biggest reason Maylin had decided to save her super spell coins for a finisher or a trump card was because of how much it drained her energy after using one. These _were_ extremely powerful spells, after all, and despite her experience and magical prowess, Maylin was still learning more and more about magic.

"That was pretty cool," Lafter admitted once she'd deemed it safe enough to return to the square. "Hey, you okay?"

"She's just exhausted," Haruka stated. "Using those super finisher spells takes a lot out of her."

"I still say it's worth it when you need a flashy way to end a fight," Maylin giggled.

The figure hiding in the shadows, having heard this, decided that now was the time, considering he had hidden until the Demon Tower had been vanquished.

"So, what are you guys up to now?" Lafter wondered.

"We just decided to..."

Haruka suddenly stopped, having sensed something off about the area.

"What's up, Haruka?" Maylin wondered.

A loud thunderclap echoed through the square, and Maylin and Haruka could only watch in terror as three bullets flew from the far-off shadows and pierced through Lafter's chest, instantly causing her to collapse in a world of pain.

Haruka immediately dashed over to catch Lafter before she could hit the ground, knowing that with the wounds she'd just suffered, an impact like that could easily kill her.

Maylin, however, began to frantically rake her gaze around for the culprit, already having a clear understanding of who it could possibly be. Eventually, her eyes landed on the shadowed hallway where the bullets had come from, seeing the silhouette of the assassin.

"YOU!" Maylin exclaimed, causing the figure to twitch nervously. "You are SO FREAKING DEAD!"

"Maylin, we don't have time to deal with him," Haruka stated, trying her best to keep her composure.

"Haruka, if you don't mind, let me go over there and KILL THIS SON OF A BITCH!" Maylin shouted. "I KNOW that was one of Jasley's mooks!"

"If you go off and murder him, who's gonna help Lafter?" Haruka proclaimed matter-of-factly.

Lafter suddenly reached up with shaking hands, handing off her teddy bear to Haruka.

"G-Give that to him for me... okay?" Lafter gasped before her eyes closed and she collapsed into Haruka's lap.

Maylin just stood there, her whole body shaking at the implications. "Oh, god, is... is she...?"

Haruka leaned down to put her ear to Lafter's chest, hearing a very slow beat that was fading fast.

"She's still alive, but for how much longer, I can only guess," Haruka replied. "We might be in a pickle here, Maylin. I don't know if there's any doctors nearby, or if we even have a way to get in contact with Tekkadan..."

"No..."

Haruka looked up at Maylin, and was surprised to see a steady stream of tears falling from her eyes.

"No... I-I won't... I _won't allow it_..."

"Maylin, there might not be anything you can do," Haruka stated. "You know your Cure spells won't work on someone who's already dead, and considering the extent of Lafter's injuries, I'm not sure if..."

"I SAID I WON'T ALLOW IT!" Maylin screamed, making Haruka flinch back slightly. She'd _never_ seen Maylin this upset before. "Haruka, don't you get it?! If we just stay there and accept her fate, that means I broke my promise!"

Maylin didn't wait for Haruka to answer her, digging into her pocket and retrieving another super spell coin with almost frantic speed.

"M-Maylin, you're not seriously going to use another of those things so soon?" Haruka quipped.

"I promised Nick! _I promised Marie!_ I promised MYSELF!" Maylin cried, trying to see straight through her tears. "And... someone very special to me taught me... to NEVER BREAK MY PROMISES!"

Maylin tossed her spell coin into the air before striking it with Counterpoint as it fell down, hoping beyond all hope that she wasn't too late. _"Hold fast to the ancient laws, and let magic be my guide! CURAJA!"_

Maylin sliced Counterpoint through the air to strike the coin, its ancient letters shining with a bright green light, and a column of emerald light descended from the air to surround Lafter's body. A few seconds passed before the column disappeared, and everything around the trio was silent.

Seconds passed, and nothing seemed to have changed. But just as Maylin was about to begin despairing, Lafter shook her head as if clearing away a headache before looking up at Maylin's tear-streaked face, slightly confused as to what had just happened.

"Um... are you okay, Maylin?" Lafter asked. Just hearing Lafter's voice seemed to finally break Maylin, as she burst out crying and threw herself at Lafter, holding the older girl tightly to her as if she feared letting go would separate them forever.

"Oh, god, Lafter, please tell me you're okay!" Maylin shouted.

"I... I think so," Lafter admitted, slowly but confidently returning Maylin's embrace. "What exactly happened?"

"You were almost assassinated," Haruka replied. "One of Jasley's goon patrol must have been hiding back in the alleys while we fought that Demon Tower. He was probably waiting for his moment to strike. Maylin saved your life just in the nick of time."

"Thank god... thank you, god..." Maylin sobbed, still hugging Lafter as if her life depended on it.

"Hey, it's okay, Maylin," Lafter stated, patting the back of Maylin's head. "I'm still here. You don't have to worry."

"And now I see what you meant by your 'promise'," Haruka quipped, now understanding what Maylin had meant.

In response, Maylin just nodded. "After we defeated Izanami-no-Mikoto... I made a promise to myself," Maylin explained now that she was finally starting to calm down. "After what Nick had to do... after what happened to Marie... I swore to myself that I would _never, ever_ let innocent people die while I had the power to prevent it. It hurt enough when we lost Marie, and I knew _exactly_ how Nick felt. I don't _ever_ want anyone else to feel that kind of pain, the pain of losing someone you love..."

"And that explains why you were crying so hard after you vented last time we were here," Haruka realized. "Because we lost Naze and Amida, you felt like you'd broken that promise, even though, due to our circumstances, there was nothing we could have done anyway..."

"And that's what hurt the most!" Maylin admitted. "Knowing there wasn't a damn thing I could do to save them, despite the oath I made... that's _precisely_ the reason why I also told myself that if I _ever, EVER_ see Jasley or Iok's stupid faces again, they're going to wish they'd never incurred my wrath."

"And I'll personally see to that," Haruka laughed. "I've got my own beef with those numbnuts, after all."

"Lafter?!" Azee Gurumin's voice resounded, sounding very panicked as she raced back to the scene of the battle. No doubt she had heard the commotion caused by the Demon Tower and Lafter's near-assassination. "Oh, god, are you okay? I heard the gunshots, and... I thought you'd been killed!"

"I... almost was, honestly," Lafter admitted. Despite Azee's horror-struck face, Lafter just smiled. "But... I'm still here. Maylin saved me just in time."

"I can understand if you're still a bit wary of me, Azee," Maylin admitted. "I scared myself then, too."

The last time Maylin and Haruka had been to this world, Maylin had gone on a bit of a rampage. When Jasley and his men had shown up at Naze and Amida's funeral simply to mock their deaths, Maylin (against Haruka's warnings) had practically exploded with unyielding rage, actually attacking Jasley and wrecking part of a nearby abandoned building with an overpowered spell.

She had, thankfully, stopped short of wasting Jasley right on the spot, instead merely warning him not to cross her again. Jasley had just laughed in her face, despite seeing Maylin's magical prowess up close and personal.

 _I won't be giving you another chance, jackass,_ Maylin thought. _He probably did this just to goad us into fighting him. Well, if that's what he wants, by god, he's gonna regret it._

"I'm just happy you were able to save Lafter," Azee admitted. "If she had died when I couldn't even protect her, I would have lost it..."

Maylin slowly let go of Lafter and resummoned Counterpoint. "Oh, trust me, Jasley is gonna _pay_ for screwing us over. But right now... we should probably get back to Tekkadan. After all, Akihiro's waiting for you, isn't he, Lafter?"

Maylin couldn't help but giggle to herself when Lafter's face went red again. _I'm getting pretty good at this whole matchmaking thing,_ Maylin thought. _But seriously, I really hope those two can be happy. They deserve happiness after everything they've been through._

* * *

Akihiro Altland didn't look like he was angry. On the outside, he appeared to be perfectly calm. But on the inside, he was angrier than he had ever been.

He had practically told Orga so when asking to let him loose on Jasley the next time they encountered him.

The instant he'd heard that Jasley and his men had assassinated Lafter, Akihiro had nearly lost it, despite willing his expression to show none of his building rage.

Akihiro saw someone approaching from the nearby hallway, and put himself on edge, not expecting anyone to walk by in his agitated state.

"Whoa, calm down, doof, it's just us," Maylin quipped.

"W-wait, Maylin, when did you come back?" Akihiro wondered.

"Long story short, we just got out of a pretty huge battle of our own," Haruka replied. "Everything okay, Akihiro? You seem kind of angry."

Akihiro just sighed, knowing he couldn't hide it from Maylin and Haruka. "Someone I... someone I was falling in love with was just murdered," Akihiro admitted. "And... I never got the chance to admit it before..."

To Akihiro's annoyance, Maylin simply smiled brightly. "I believe that's the cue we need. Lafter, you may wanna get in here!"

Akihiro didn't even have time to respond as Lafter turned the corner and threw herself at Akihiro, hugging him tightly despite his shock.

"L-Lafter, you're... you're alive?!" Akihiro gasped. "I thought Jasley had you assassinated!"

"Maylin foiled that plot," Lafter repeated. "We _just_ got back to the base. And, well..."

Lafter decided to just go for it, and leaped forward to kiss Akihiro, who took a few seconds to respond, but put his arms around Lafter once he'd recovered and returned the kiss in kind.

 _Score one for me,_ Maylin thought as she watched Lafter and Akihiro kiss.

"I love you, Akihiro," Lafter admitted. "I know it sounds strange, but I really do love you. I told myself I'd tell you the next time I saw you. Gotta live for today, right?"

Haruka couldn't help but smile, knowing that was something Nick liked to say a lot.

"I..." Akihiro stumbled for a second before deciding to just go with his gut feeling. "I love you, too, Lafter. I'm sorry I didn't see it before..."

Lafter just kissed Akihiro again, her smile never leaving her face.

"It's okay," Lafter responded. "I understand."

"Well, we'll let you two lovebirds be," Maylin quipped. "Wouldn't want to rain on your parade, after all."

"Wait, wait, before you go," Lafter stated, reaching into her pocket and retrieving something else she'd found at the mall, revealed to be a trinket shaped like a teddy bear, closely resembling the one she'd gotten for Akihiro. "This one's for you two."

Lafter tossed the keychain to Maylin, who snatched it out of midair, curious to see how this would actually work. After all, she'd never tried any of Nick's keychains, preferring to stick with Spellbinder and Counterpoint.

Deciding to satisfy her curiosity, Maylin attached the keychain to Counterpoint, then dramatically slashed it horizontally, the keyblade transforming in mid-swing.

The new keyblade had a blade shaped like the katana used by the Gundam Barbatos Lupus, with two strands wrapping around the blade that looked a lot like Lafter's pigtails, the teeth was a blooming steel rose, the hilt resembled the "crown" of the Barbatos Lupus, the handle resembled the booster protrusions of Lafter's own mobile suit, the Hyakuri, and the keychain resembled the prongs of the Alaya-Vijnana system. As Maylin studied her new keyblade, the words _Iron Flower_ ran through her head.

"Whoa, I didn't know your weapon could do that," Akihiro gasped. He'd seen Maylin in action, but he'd never seen her keyblade transform like that.

"I've never actually done it before," Maylin admitted. "My friend always did that with his keyblade, because _he's_ the one who got all the keychains."

As the conversation continued, Haruka saw something strange out of the corner of her eye, politely excusing herself from the conversation to go and investigate.

Gazing around the different areas of the base, Haruka kept her guard up, knowing that whatever it was could be waiting to ambush her at any second.

Once she reached the mobile suit hangar, she saw it.

Standing in front of the Gundam Barbatos Lupus was a figure completely obscured by a familiar black hood and robe, exactly like the one that Mariko Kusumi had worn for most of their previous adventure.

"Um... can I help you?" Haruka asked, summoning Rumbling Rose to her hands.

The figure slowly began to walk towards Haruka, forcing her to raise Rumbling Rose in defense even though the figure didn't appear to be attacking.

"Maybe _I_ can help _you_ ," the figure responded in a female voice, slightly deep but still a bit high-pitched.

"You'll have to forgive me if I'm a little wary of people wearing those black hoods," Haruka stated. "Anyone wearing that has been nothing but trouble for me and my friends."

"I understand that, but I merely wish to help this world along," the figure replied. "After all, I don't want a repeat of anything that has already happened."

"Meaning...?" Haruka asked, her body immediately going on the defensive when the figure summoned a keyblade to her hand.

This keyblade had a dark black handle with a raised spiral carved around it. Its pommel and guard resembled black, demonic wings. The base of the blade was an etching of a goat, and the shaft was formed from two black, barbed blades, etched with a white icon resembling a bramble of thorns. The teeth were formed in the shape of a demonic wing, and was set with what appeared to be an eye of darkness. The keychain was made of small, grey links, and the token was an entangled, grey talisman with an additional eye of darkness.

Haruka took a good look at the keyblade, only to start shivering a bit. That was a keyblade she had hoped never to see again.

"W-where did you get that keyblade?" Haruka asked, ready to start fighting if she needed to. "I-I thought it had been destroyed!"

"Hmph. Shows what _you_ know about history," the Mysterious Figure taunted, swinging No Name and unleashing a wave of darkness that blasted Haruka clear out of the hangar and made her crash straight into the wall of the nearby hallway, unintentionally scaring Atra Mixta, who had been walking by at that moment.

"Oh, jeez, are you okay?" Atra asked, dashing over to help Haruka to her feet.

"That was a cheap shot, lady," Haruka growled, switching from Rumbling Rose to a new keyblade.

This keyblade's blade was a red, single-edged sword with a white inner edge. A yellow wing sweeping around it formed the teeth. The hilt blended into more grey with the symbol of a rainbow-colored ring in the middle. The handle was a deep red, and the guard was another sweeping wing, colored blue and circling around the handle but not connecting. The token was a shooting star with a prominent bow shock, connected by a keychain made of three silver sunbursts.

"I haven't used this one in a while, so I guess I should commend you for getting me to bust out the museum piece!" Haruka proclaimed, clutching the handle of Divewing and charging back into the hangar to square off with the Mysterious Figure.

Haruka and the Mysterious Figure began to clash, trading blows with their keyblades before backing off to unleash magical attacks.

"Haruka, what was that?! I felt a flare of darkness and..." Maylin exclaimed, having just joined the ruckus, only to stop in mid-sentence when she noticed the No Name in the Mysterious Figure's hands.

The Mysterious Figure performed a spinning buzzsaw slash to put some distance between herself and Haruka.

"Gaze upon this ancient weapon," the Mysterious Figure proclaimed, holding the No Name up for both Maylin and Haruka to see. "Imbedded with the Master's Gazing Eye that can see the future."

"W-wait, the Master's Gazing Eye?!" Haruka shouted. "You can't be serious!"

"Oh, but I am," the Mysterious Figure responded. "I swore upon this most ancient keyblade that I will _not_ let this tragedy continue, even if I have to erase everything else to do so."

"You're not getting that chance, miss hood!" Maylin growled, summoning Iron Flower and aiming a super spell coin for the Mysterious Figure, only for her to plant No Name's teeth into the ground and unleash a shockwave of darkness.

Maylin and Haruka went on the defense, ready for more, but when the shockwave dissipated, the Mysterious Figure was gone, leaving no trace that she'd ever been there at all.

The hangar was quiet, Maylin and Haruka just staring at each other in obvious concern. If that keyblade really _was_ the No Name...

"Is... everything okay, you two?" Atra asked now that the battle was over.

"Just... got some things to think about, Atra," Haruka answered as she activated the teleporter on her wrist communicator, surrounding Maylin and Haruka with a beam of light that returned them to the Gummi Ship.

Atra watched them leave with a mixture of confusion and uneasiness highlighting her expression. They usually always said their proper goodbyes before teleporting away.

 _Must be something serious,_ Atra thought.

* * *

"Haruka?" Maylin asked once they were both in their respective seats. "Do you... do you think we should call Nick for this?"

"Nah, we should probably let him relax for now," Haruka replied. "I'm sure he's got his own priorities to deal with, what with school and everything."

"Now I remember why I never liked school," Maylin groaned teasingly.

Haruka smiled back before returning to the controls, only for Maylin to suddenly plop herself down beside her in the pilot's chair.

"H-Hey," Haruka gasped.

"Room for two?" Maylin giggled.

Haruka couldn't help but laugh herself. Maylin always knew how to make her feel better.

"For you, best buddy, always," Haruka giggled.

With that, Haruka turned the Gummi Ship around and began to chart a course for the next world on their journey.

The thoughts of that keyblade would linger for a while, though, as the two heroines hoped they'd eventually get some information on...

... _whatever_ it was they were up against.

After all, if _that_ particular keyblade was still out and about when it was supposed to have been destroyed...

...then something was, indeed, _very_ wrong.

 _To be continued..._

* * *

 _New keyblade acquired!_

 **Iron Flower  
** _Strength:_ **9**  
 _Magic:_ **11**  
 _Ability:_ **Finishing Plus**  
 _Description:_ A keyblade representing the warriors of Tekkadan, the iron flower that never wilts. A magically-superior weapon that increases critical hit rate by 30% and allows combo finishing moves to be unleashed successively.

* * *

 _New keyblade acquired!_

 **Divewing  
** _Strength:_ **15**  
 _Magic:_ **6**  
 _Ability:_ **Aero Boost**  
 _Description:_ A keyblade representing the will of an ancient ally who only wished for freedom. Increases the damage of wind-based attacks and magic by 20%.

* * *

On the next episode...

Maylin: Well, how about that? We have our own adventure to go on!

Haruka: Yeah, well, it isn't all sunshine and daisies. We've got a real problem, Maylin, if that keyblade is really what I think it is...

Maylin: Hey, we'll figure things out eventually, I know it. This is _our_ journey, after all!

Haruka: ...point taken. Hey, Maylin, why are we in a castle?

Maylin: I was wondering that myself. Wait, wait, is that who I think it is?! What's _he_ doing here?

Haruka: Maybe he's looking for someone. Flynn, I'm willing to guess?

Maylin: If Flynn's nowhere to be found, then something is _definitely_ wrong there. Next time on _W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart ~A Fragmentary Passage~_ , "Ballad of the Blastia"!

Maylin & Haruka: May your hearts be your guiding key!


	2. Ballad of the Blastia

"What'cha thinkin' about, partner?" Maylin asked as the Gummi Ship continued its travels.

Haruka just smiled. Maylin could see right through her sometimes.

"Oh, just some of the adventures we've been on before all of this," Haruka admitted. "I'm excited to see the worlds we can go back to now."

"Yeah," Maylin sighed. After all, as she had explained to Nick, she and Haruka hadn't been as lucky when it came to finding the keyholes for some of the worlds they'd visited. Many a time, Maylin could only watch in horror as the world ripped itself apart while all they could do was retreat back to the Gummi Ship.

Thankfully, she knew all of those worlds were back now that Izanami-no-Mikoto had been vanquished.

"Hey, hey," Haruka stated, patting Maylin's shoulder. She knew what the young mage was probably thinking. "It's not your fault. Sometimes there's nothing you can do, and I know it hurts. But we're gonna do our best to make sure it never happens again, okay?"

"Honestly, what did I do to deserve the best partner ever?" Maylin giggled, leaning over to hug Haruka.

"Just the right alignment, I guess," Haruka laughed. "But on to the business at hand, does that world look familiar to you?"

Maylin looked out into the Lanes Between towards the world that was fast approaching. The structure that represented it resembled a large imperial castle with a sprawling city surrounding it, and a gigantic blue barrier surrounding it all.

"Hold on a minute, is that Zaphias?" Maylin quipped. "Oh, _man_ , it's been a while since we've been here!"

"Yeah, too long since the last time we had to deal with the Tweedles," Haruka teased.

"Oof, they just won't give up, will they?" Maylin groaned. "Stupid noble twits..."

"Well, let's go down and see if Yuri needs any help with the local yokels," Haruka proclaimed. "Prepare for landing!"

* * *

(In your hand, take this key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me, friend. No ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love. May your hearts be your guiding key.)

 **The Blue Time Ranger** is proud to present:  
 _W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart ~A Fragmentary Passage~  
_ **Story Created:** February 6th, 2017  
 **Story Rated:** T for Teen

 **Story Summary:** Taking place in the year between _Key to Her Heart HD Remix_ and _Key to Her Heart II_ , Maylin and Haruka were definitely on adventures of their own while Nick was renewing his life in Heatherfield. Now is the time to chronicle those adventures and see what Maylin and Haruka were up to during that in-between year. But as they journey on, they have no clue that they're being watched from beyond by a strange figure. Could this be the precursor to Organization XIII? Did Izanami-no-Mikoto have sympathizers who wish to undo her defeat at Nick's hands? Or is this a brand new evil, simply waiting to make its move?

 **On Today's Episode:** Deep within the castle of the Imperial Capital Zaphias, Yuri Lowell continues his search for Flynn in hopes of finding the thief who stole the lower quarter's aqua blastia. Maylin and Haruka offer their assistance, only to discover a young princess who's also trying to find Flynn, a certified madman on the rampage, and something else that may be stalking them through the castle...

 **And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to W.I.T.C.H. or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Elisabetta Gnone and Disney if we're talking the cartoon. The only things of this story I DO own are any characters created by yours truly for the story. Any characters or things I don't own, I am just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of my readers. The same goes for any anime, video game, or comic book series that will be represented here. Besides, if I did own W.I.T.C.H., which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?

 **For Today's World:** The next stop is _Tales of Vesperia_ by Namco Tales Studio, in preparation for the Definitive Edition that's coming out in about a month. This chapter takes place during the first chapter of Vesperia, after Yuri escapes from prison and goes through the castle in search of Flynn.

* * *

Episode 2: Ballad of the Blastia

"Hey, you! Stop right where you are!"

Yuri Lowell did indeed stop in his tracks, though only to draw his sword. "Well, I guess I've gotta do some fighting," Yuri quipped. "Man, this just isn't my day."

However, just as Yuri was about to attack one of the knights, said knight stiffened in his spot before collapsing in an unconscious heap onto the ground.

Once the knight fell, it was revealed that Haruka had attacked the knight while he'd been distracted by Yuri.

"Talk about a dramatic entrance," Yuri teased.

"Hey, I just felt like putting some flair into it," Haruka laughed.

Maylin quickly made her presence known by leaping over Haruka's shoulders and casting Blizzaga on the floor under the other knight, freezing him to the ground. Yuri took this opportunity to slash his sword across the knight's back, cutting into the armor and forcing him to flee down the nearby hallway.

"Well, now that _that's_ over for the moment," Yuri laughed as he turned his attention back to Maylin and Haruka. "I definitely didn't expect you two to be in the castle."

Maylin couldn't help but chuckle as she let Counterpoint rest on her shoulder. "I could say the same thing about _you_ , Yuri Lowell," Maylin teased. "What exactly are _you_ doing here?"

"Long story short, I'm trying to find a thief who stole the aqua blastia for the lower quarter, I ran into the Tweedles, got myself caught and jailed, and then I got sprung by some old dude and now I'm trying to get out," Yuri explained.

"Yep, just another day in the life," Haruka giggled.

"Well, how about we be your official escorts for now?" Maylin proclaimed. "You know, just in case we run into the Tweedles or the Heartless."

Yuri couldn't help but twitch at the mention of the Heartless. After all, those things had caused quite a ruckus the last time Maylin and Haruka had been around, destroying an entire apartment complex before the two girls had taken down the cause of the infestation.

The sound of loud footsteps caught the trio's attention. Maylin was the first to turn around and see that a girl who looked about their age with pink hair backing away from a few more knights, raising a scimitar-like sword in her defense.

"Why don't he just head back, miss?" the first knight asked.

"I can't _possibly_ do that right now!" the princess responded.

"This is for your own good, miss, you understand that," the second knight replied. "As for the 'incident', we take full responsibility and will inform the lieutenant."

"How can you say that?!" the princess shouted. "You haven't done a thing to help me!"

One of the knights took a few steps towards the princess, only for her to raise her weapon towards the knight.

"Please, don't come any closer," the princess stated.

"Now, now, please put that down," the first knight responded. "You're only going to hurt yourself."

"I _know_ how to use a sword!" the princess growled.

The two knights glanced at each other before drawing their own weapons. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this," the first knight stated.

"I think that's our cue," Maylin quipped, to which Haruka nodded as they both summoned their keyblades.

Two more knights arrived from a nearby hallway, and the princess took a few steps backwards, knowing she was easily outnumbered now.

"Please, you _have_ to let me go!" the princess exclaimed. "If I don't find Flynn, he could be in trouble!"

That name easily caught Yuri's attention. _Did she say 'Flynn'?_

As two of the knights stepped closer to the princess, Haruka took a step forward before unleashing a Strike Raid, throwing Rumbling Rose forward so that it spun through the air and ping-ponged off of the two approaching knights, instantly knocking them out.

Maylin spun Counterpoint in her hands before firing a Thunder spell towards one of the two remaining knights, the electricity jumping between their armor and sending them right into hazy unconsciousness.

A fifth knight attempted to sneak up from behind while Maylin and Haruka were distracted, but Yuri swung his sword to fire off an Azure Edge, a small comet-shaped energy blast, to knock out the last knight.

"Man, don't they teach manners in knight school anymore?" Yuri groaned.

"Tell me about it," Maylin quipped, only to instinctively dodge roll away as the princess attempted to smash a vase into her. "HEY! What's the big deal?! You could have really hurt me with that!"

"Well..." the princess started. "I know you're not supposed to be in the castle, right?"

"I guess I can take that as a compliment, that you can tell just by looking at us," Haruka giggled.

"YURI LOWELL, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"I say, we know you're trying to escape, you foul fugitive!"

Yuri just facepalmed in annoyance. "Oh, please, not those fools again," Yuri groaned. "Well, I guess there's no point in going back to the cell now..."

The princess did a double-take upon hearing Yuri's name. "Wait, Yuri Lowell? You're one of Flynn's friends, aren't you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"And you used to be with the Imperial Knights?"

"For about three months," Yuri admitted. "Did Flynn tell you that?"

The princess nodded, much to Yuri's amusement.

"Wow, I guess he found someone at the castle he could talk to after all," Yuri stated.

Steeling her resolve, the princess ran up to Yuri. "Listen, Yuri, I _really_ need to find Flynn!" the princess exclaimed.

"Wait, hold on, who exactly are you?" Yuri wondered. "I can tell you know Flynn somehow, but why are the Knights chasing you?"

"OVER HERE!"

"Okay, as much as I'd like to hear this story, methinks we shouldn't be standing around here," Maylin proclaimed.

"How about we start by going to Flynn's room?" Haruka stated. "Maybe we'll find something there."

However, while the group made their way through the hallways of the castle, Maylin started hearing strange whispers, almost as if something was watching them from the darkness.

Even as Yuri swung his sword to knock out another wandering knight, Maylin stopped in her tracks and summoned Counterpoint to her hands.

"Everything okay?" the princess asked.

"Hey, do you guys feel like we're being... I don't know, _watched_ or something?" Maylin wondered.

Just as Haruka decided to glance ahead for any reinforcements, Maylin heard a voice in her mind.

 _Are you really worthy of being a keyblade master?_

"Who's there?!" Maylin shouted, bringing Counterpoint into a fighting stance.

 _Your bonds of friendship only tie you down._

"Show yourself, asshole!" Maylin growled.

No response from the mysterious voice. Still, Maylin kept her keyblade ready just in case the culprit decided to lunge from the shadows.

"Please tell me you guys heard a weird voice," Maylin asked. To her surprise, the other three just shook their heads.

"Ooh, that's not good..." Maylin groaned. "Hearing voices no one else can hear is _never_ a good sign..."

"Hey, we've been through far worse than weird voices," Haruka admitted, gently squeezing Maylin's shoulder to reassure her. "Just let me know if you hear them again, and I'll try to pinpoint the sucker."

Maylin nodded just as they reached a door down the fifth hallway of this area of the castle. "This the place?" Maylin asked.

The princess nodded before slowly opening the door, only to find the room in question empty, no sign of Flynn.

"Well, this place is pretty clean, isn't it?" Yuri quipped. "That must mean Flynn's off gallivanting around somewhere."

"Then... I'm too late..." the princess gasped.

"Hold on, what sort of wickedness did you get involved with?" Maylin asked.

"Me? I haven't done anything wrong," the princess replied.

"And yet a bunch of Imperial Knights are chasing you around the castle," Haruka quipped. She was pretty sure that the princess didn't have any ill intentions, but was still wondering just why the Knights were chasing her.

"Well, I..." the princess started before composing herself. "I can't get into specifics, but Flynn is in serious danger, and I have to find him so I can warn him!"

"Well, if you wanna go, then go," Yuri stated. "What's holding you up?"

"I wish I knew..." the princess answered.

"Listen, I've got something that needs my immediate attention, too," Yuri proclaimed. "I need to get back to the lower quarter as soon as things quiet down out there."

"In that case..." the princess offered as she took a few steps closer. "Can I please come with all of you? Besides Flynn, I don't have anyone else to count on. At the very least, can you help me get out of the castle? I'm begging you..."

"Okay, I can see how serious you are, but how about you tell me your name first?" Yuri answered. "I'd like to at least know who's coming with me."

Before the princess could respond, the door to the room crashed open, apparently knocked off of its hinges by the man in the doorway, who had strangely-styled hair of both red and yellow color.

"Prepare to die before my blade!" the madman cackled, unsheathing one of his elongated dagger-like swords, flipping it so he wielded it in a reverse grip, and slashing it hard enough to shatter a nearby vase.

"Haven't you heard of knocking, wacko?!" Maylin shouted, summoning Counterpoint to her hands.

"I am Zagi, the man who will personally send you to hell, Flynn Scifo!" Zagi proclaimed.

Zagi drew another dagger with his other hand and lunged, only to crash right into a Reflect barrier that Maylin had prepared.

"Yeah, I don't think so," Maylin taunted.

"You've got the wrong guy, buddy!" Yuri shouted.

"DIE!" Zagi shouted, attacking Yuri with a double overhead slash, only for him to block it with his sword.

"You really ought to listen more," Yuri sighed.

"My name is Zagi. Remember it well, Flynn," Zagi laughed even as Haruka slammed him to the ground with an overhead strike from Rumbling Rose.

"Are you blind, too? HE'S NOT FLYNN!" Haruka shouted, striking Zagi three times before ending in a finishing move where she brought Rumbling Rose high above her, then slammed it down to create rock spikes all around her that stabbed outwards before vanishing.

"Oh, what's wrong?" Zagi cackled, getting right back up.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Yuri growled, avoiding a lunging stab from Zagi to slash his sword across Zagi's back a few times, seemingly dazing the madman.

Despite his stunned state, Zagi simply continued to chuckle like he'd lost his mind. "Oh, I'm going to kill you, and carve your name into my blood," Zagi proclaimed.

"Ew," Maylin gagged.

"Oh, yeah, THIS IS GONNA BE FUN!" Zagi screamed before going back on the offensive, wildly slashing his daggers.

Maylin decided to stay back and do what she did best, reaching for a spell coin while Haruka kept Zagi busy.

" _Force, know my plight! Release the light! THUNDAGA!"_ Maylin shouted, striking her spell coin with Counterpoint and watching as a barrage of lightning bolts dropped from the sky down onto Zagi, stunning him long enough for Haruka to charge back into the fray and start attacking.

"See how you like _this_ , anime-hair!" Haruka proclaimed, spinning Rumbling Rose in her hand before smashing it into the ground, creating a small upheaval under Zagi that sent him reeling and back out into the hallway.

Maylin and Haruka immediately pursued just as Zagi recovered himself and leaped into the air, then rocketed towards Maylin at unexpected speeds.

Just as Zagi slashed through the air with both of his daggers, Haruka leaped in front of Maylin, knowing she couldn't dodge the attack at that speed.

Maylin could only watch in horror as Zagi's daggers sliced into Haruka's chest and sent her tumbling to the floor, struggling to get up on her own power.

The princess suddenly ran up, carrying a shield alongside her weapon.

"Hey, get back!" Yuri shouted.

"Let me help you, Yuri," the princess replied. "I can handle myself."

"Okay, but if things get out of hand, run for it, got it?" Yuri stated quite clearly.

"Understood," the princess stated.

"Oh, don't give up so soon," Zagi cackled. "I haven't had a fight like this in years!"

The princess was about to raise her sword and attack when she noticed Maylin's entire body shaking with barely-repressed rage.

"Oh, what's wrong, little girl?" Zagi laughed, twirling his daggers. "Are you upset that I carved a mark on your little friend?"

Maylin said nothing as she reached for a super spell coin while Yuri swung his sword and fired off an Azure Edge, a comet-shaped blast of blue energy, to temporarily stun Zagi so Maylin could attack.

Maylin twirled Counterpoint around in dramatic fashion before tossing the super spell coin into the air. _"Hold fast to the ancient laws, and let magic be my guide! THUNDAJA!"_ Maylin shouted before striking the coin.

A circle of light beams surrounded Zagi, who was still laughing like a madman. As Zagi tried to dodge the attack, multiple bolts of lightning began to bombard him from all sides before three wicked thunderbolts cracked down all at once, followed by another bombardment of regular lightning bolts, and finishing with one final, bluish-white thunderbolt surging down into Zagi's body and causing a great explosion of electricity that threw Zagi clear down the hallway.

"Yes, yes, keep it coming! I wanna see you at your best!" Zagi laughed.

"Oh, you want to see my best?" Maylin growled as, much like Haruka had done with Divewing back at Tekkadan HQ, she switched Counterpoint to a different keyblade.

The keyblade's guard was circular and somewhat jagged around its edges. The upper half of the guard was black, the center was grey, and the bottom of it was white. The handle was a featureless, grey rod, the shaft was thin and navy blue in coloration, except for the tip, which was silver. The base of the shaft also sported two diamond-shaped bumps. The keyblade's teeth were comprised of a rectangular frame lined with four short, blunt spikes, the spikes and frame all navy blue. The teeth also had three silver pieces bent at right angles, two on the inside corners of the frame and one on the inside center of one side. The keychain links and token resembled water drops.

Maylin's body began to glow with a bright aquatic blue light as she raised Stormfall, which also was enshrouded in the same glow.

" _Style Change: Spellweaver!"_ Maylin proclaimed. Light exploded outwards from Maylin's body, forcing Zagi to take a few steps back.

When the light died down, Maylin was floating slightly off the ground, still surrounded by that radiant glow. Even her eyes were twinkling with the light of a star. Stormfall was floating by her right hand, being telekinetically controlled by Maylin with this new power of hers.

"You hurt my friend, jackass. That means you're not getting _any_ mercy from me!" Maylin shouted, her voice echoing as she rushed Zagi, swinging Stormfall in wide, sweeping attacks. The keyblade actually spun around as she swung it, further adding to the damage it was causing. Maylin finished her combo by aiming Stormfall for Zagi and firing off a large sphere of light that did multiple hits worth of damage and caused Zagi to slump to his knees.

"Oh, don't think I'm done with you yet, jerk!" Maylin proclaimed. Energy began to gather around Stormfall, and Maylin began to spin around like a ballet dancer, spirals of light surrounding her as she did so and lifting Zagi into the air with each hit.

After about seven straight seconds of spinning, Maylin finished with a swift flourish of Stormfall that created a large ice crystal above her, which instantly shattered and created a shockwave that sent Zagi crashing into the wall.

"Swallow _that_ , you _ass_ ," Maylin growled as she doubled back to heal Haruka.

"You've got the wrong guy," Yuri proclaimed. "You're supposed to know this stuff, aren't you?!"

"Yeah, he's not Flynn!" the princess stated.

"Do the details really matter?" Zagi cackled. "Bring it on, all of you!"

Zagi's tirade was interrupted by the arrival of another figure in a blue cloak and hood. "Zagi, we have to go. The Knights are on to us," the figure stated, only for Zagi to backhand him back to the ground. "How _dare_ you..."

"Hey, I'm just getting to the best part!" Zagi shouted. "Mind your own damn business!"

"Hurry up, before the Knights find us!" the figure growled, picking himself up quickly. "Or would you rather this be the end of your fun?"

In response, Zagi simply slashed the figure three times, knocking him over. Zagi glanced back at Yuri, an extremely creepy grin highlighting his expression as he sauntered out of the area like he was king of the world.

Yuri just sighed in relief that the crazy man had finally decided to leave them be. "Guess that means we'll be on our way as well," Yuri quipped. "We'll just stop at the goddess and make our way out."

" _Please_ tell me you're okay, Haruka," Maylin gasped as Haruka sat up and composed herself. Thanks to Maylin's Curaga spell, the wound on Haruka's chest had completely vanished.

"Silly, I've been through worse and you _know_ it," Haruka quipped, gesturing to her shoulder, the exact point where she'd been shot by the crew of the Normandy when trying to communicate with them. "A measly dagger hit is nothing when I've got the best mage in the multiverse as my medic."

Haruka moved a little closer so she could hug Maylin and reassure her partner that she was fine. Maylin, in response, simply cuddled into Haruka, happy that she was okay.

 _But what if she'd died? What would you have done then?_

Maylin immediately jerked her gaze around, again searching for the source of the strange voice.

"Where is that damn voice coming from?" Maylin growled to herself.

"Yeah, I'm not dying anytime soon," Haruka quipped.

"Wait, you heard it that time, too?" Maylin gasped.

"Yeah, this time I _definitely_ did," Haruka answered. "You think it has something to do with little miss hood?"

"I'm almost positive," Maylin replied. "She's probably trying to psych us out or something. Just wait until I get my hands on her!"

"We should probably get out of here before that hooded person shows up, or worse, we have to deal with that nutcase again," Yuri quipped.

"Um..." the princess started.

"Don't worry, I promise we'll stick together to get out of here," Yuri reassured.

"Of course, but... I just wanted to say that... my name is Estellise," the princess replied.

"Well, then, Estellise, let's get moving," Yuri proclaimed.

After stopping briefly to fix the busted door at Estellise's request, the group continued to make their way through the halls of the castle, occasionally stopping to incapacitate a guard that had spotted them.

Along the way, Maylin and Haruka continued to search for the source of the strange voice that had been basically haunting them since they'd arrived.

"Any luck, Haruka?" Maylin asked.

"Still no sign of that nut," Haruka answered, keeping Rumbling Rose out just in case the specter decided to jump them. "By the way, where did you get that keyblade? I thought that was the one that evil Marie had used."

"Oh, my magic teacher gave it to me when she got a new keyblade," Maylin answered, and Haruka immediately knew who Stormfall had once belonged to.

After crossing a walkway to one of the nearby courtyard-like areas, Yuri looked down to the floor below them and saw a cluster of knights dashing in many different directions.

"I wonder if it has something to do with those guys from earlier," Maylin wondered.

"They'd better not pin _this_ on me, too," Yuri growled.

"I hope nobody got hurt," Estellise sighed.

"Don't worry about the knights," Yuri responded. "They can take care of themselves."

"I... I guess you're right," Estellise replied.

"WHERE ARE YOU, YURI LOWELL?!"

"That must be LeBlanc," Yuri groaned. "I'd recognize those dulcet tones any day."

"Do you two know each other?" Estellise asked.

"We've got a bit of a history together," Yuri admitted.

"Let's tell the story later," Haruka stated. "We really should get moving."

Estellise took a step forward before tripping on something and falling to her knees with a small squeak.

"Aaaaaaand we should probably do something about those clothes of yours," Haruka quipped, helping Estellise to her feet. "Those things _cannot_ be fun to move around in."

"Says miss tuxedo," Maylin teased. "I'm still laughing that the Silver Eagles thought you were a boy in that monkey suit!"

"Add _that_ to the _long_ list of reasons I wanted to pound them one, aside from everything they put poor Noelle through," Haruka answered, still relishing in the memory of what Maylin had done to Nozel.

"My room is just up ahead," Estellise replied. "I've got a change of clothes there."

"And problem solved," Haruka giggled.

And, just as expected, up ahead was Estellise's room.

"I'm going to go change now, so just give me a minute, okay?" Estellise asked.

"Just try to be quick, all right?" Yuri replied.

With a nod and a curtsy, Estellise opened her door and stepped into her room, closing the door behind her.

Yuri walked up to the door so he could plant himself in front of it, only for Estellise to open the door again and stare at Yuri, her sword balanced on the ground.

"Just in case," Estellise giggled.

"It's not like I was gonna peek or anything," Yuri commented.

"Well, Flynn did tell me to be careful if I ever met you," Estellise stated before returning to her room.

"Thanks, Flynn," Yuri groaned. "Do I really look like the type of person who would perv on a girl?"

"Well, maybe if the Tweedles wanted to pin something on you," Maylin answered. "They like doing that to you."

"What else is new?" Yuri stated.

Before the conversation could continue, a small pack of Heartless spawned in the corridor, forcing Maylin and Haruka to summon their keyblades.

Most of the Heartless in question were Darkballs and Wizards, a new type of Heartless had also shown up. This Heartless had a round, silver-lined head with a small face, two glowing yellow eyes and a jagged maw. Four large flower petals bordered the head, two orange and two yellow. Four orange and yellow spikes were protruding from its head, the orange ones appearing in front of the yellow petals and the yellow ones appearing in front of the orange petals. A thin, green vine-like neck extended from the back of its head to its small blue and green body, where four root-like legs extended from the corners and into the ground.

"Let me guess, Heartless?" Yuri stated, unsheathing his own weapon.

"Yup," Maylin quipped. "Any info on the plant thing, partner?"

"They're Creeper Plants," Haruka answered. "They normally just stay in one place and try to pelt you with seeds from a distance, but if you can get in close and uproot them, they're pretty much easy pickings."

"Then let's get to work!" Maylin exclaimed, starting off by firing a Thundaga to obliterate one of the Wizards. She was still incredibly elated that these things weren't immune to her magic thanks to her new keyblade.

As Yuri cut down an approaching Darkball with a Shining Fang, a sword technique where he thrust his sword forward and spun it around in his hands to do multiple hits, Haruka rushed forward and struck with a Geo Impact that destroyed two Creeper Plants even as three more spawned around them.

"You know what, _no_ ," Maylin proclaimed, jumping over a seed bullet fired from another Creeper Plant before stopping right in front of it. Reaching down with her free hand, Maylin grasped the thin body of the Creeper Plant and yanked it upwards, uprooting it and creating a shockwave around her that damaged a few Darkballs and Wyverns who had come close.

A few more Creeper Plants who had also been uprooted by the shockwave approached Maylin, but she quickly disposed of them with a Magic Hour that knocked them all into the sky where Haruka could leapfrog off of Maylin's shoulders and deliver the killing blow to each one.

"And that takes care of that," Haruka stated, flourishing Rumbling Rose proudly.

"Pain in my ass," Yuri groaned.

"Oh, Yuri, you have no idea how much they can be a pain in the ass," Maylin quipped.

At that moment, Estellise stepped out into the corridor, now wearing a much more comfortable-looking white and gold (with pink highlights) dress, her hair no longer tied up in the back, and now wielding a long rod that resembled a magic wand alongside a pinkish-red heart-shaped shield.

"What?" Estellise asked, noticing Yuri's odd expression. "I don't look strange, do I?"

"Not really," Yuri answered. "I was just thinking how this doesn't suit you either."

Despite this, Estellise walked up to Yuri and extended her hand.

"What's this?" Yuri asked.

"A handshake," Estellise replied. "It means, 'nice to meet you'."

Yuri responded by shaking Estellise's hand, prompting a smile from the princess.

"All right, let's keep moving," Yuri stated.

However, it seems that fate had decided to intervene as they approached the goddess statue that Yuri had been informed about.

"Hey, someone's here," Yuri stated.

"Oh, no, they haven't come to take me back, have they?" Estellise squeaked.

Despite everything, Maylin was the first to take a step forward and observe the robed figure that was standing just ahead of them.

"Is that who I think it is behind that hood?" Maylin proclaimed, raising her hand to summon her keyblade if need be.

The figure slowly turned around, and to everyone's surprise, the figure suddenly shape-shifted into an apparent exact copy of Maylin.

"W-what the _hell_?!" Maylin exclaimed, swiftly summoning Counterpoint.

The only differences between this copy Maylin and the real deal was that the copy's eyes were sharp yellow, and the copy's Counterpoint was shrouded in darkness.

 _Is there any point in continuing this fight?_

"YOU!" Maylin shouted.

 **("Dancing Girl" by Kenji Kaneko plays)**

Maylin barely had time to get her keyblade up to defend herself as Phantom Maylin came barreling full charge for her, swinging three times before thrusting her keyblade forward and unleashing a burst of magic that pushed Maylin backwards.

"Oh, you are asking for it _now_ , freak!" Maylin growled, dashing right back into the fray and attacking Phantom Maylin rapidly, not giving her dark self any chance to retaliate, eventually knocking her into the sky with a Magic Hour.

 _Just give up. It'll be much easier on you._

"And who do you think _you_ are, little miss clone, thinking you can just order me around because you're a darker me?" Maylin proclaimed. "Well, I'm so sorry for you, but you can go shove that ripoff keyblade _straight up your damn tailpipe!_ "

Maylin brought out a super spell coin, not wanting to hear the phantom talk any longer.

" _Hold fast to the ancient laws, and let magic be my guide! FIRAJA!"_ Maylin shouted, slamming Counterpoint into the coin.

Eight gigantic spheres of fire, resembling meteors, appeared and began to orbit around Phantom Maylin. Before the phantom could move to avoid the attack, the meteors all converged on Phantom Maylin at once, exploding into a geyser of flames that shot straight to the sky.

However, when the flames dissipated, Phantom Maylin was still there, though the damage she'd taken was obvious.

"How are you not _dead_?!" Maylin shouted, dropping to her knees in exhaustion. "That super spell should have wasted you!"

Phantom Maylin simply smirked and raised her keyblade to attack.

 _You are not as strong as you believe you are._

"And that's supposed to mean _what_ , you psychotic impostor?!" Maylin shot back.

 _Why not just let go of everything and fade back into the darkness?_

"And let monsters like you and miss hood waltz around destroying everything?!" Maylin shouted. "Not on your goddamn _life_!"

Maylin's body suddenly began to glow with a bright silver light, forcing Phantom Maylin to stop her charge.

When the rest of the party could see again, an aura of silver light was billowing forth from Maylin's body, her eyes were glowing silver, and Counterpoint was covered in a bright silver flare.

" _Now_ we'll see who's worthy, you shadow-dipped _son of a bitch!_ " Maylin shouted, her voice echoing in the room as she rushed forward to attack Phantom Maylin.

Phantom Maylin simply grinned evilly and raised her keyblade to parry Maylin's attack, only to adopt a shocked expression when Maylin swung the super-charged Counterpoint and snapped the counterfeit keyblade in twain.

Maylin didn't give her phantom any time to retaliate, slashing and slicing from every conceivable angle she could, intent on inflicting as much damage as possible.

For the final blow, Maylin unleashed an ultra-powerful Magic Hour, now causing eight orbs of light to spin upwards from around her instead of just three. Phantom Maylin screamed in anguish as her body and keyblade disintegrated in a great burst of light, leaving only little wisps of darkness that quickly evaporated.

"And _that_ is how the shadow falls," Maylin quipped before relaxing her posture and reverting to her normal self, the silver glow fading away.

"You okay, Maylin?" Haruka asked, noting that Maylin was a little wobbly after using that powerup. "That was _awesome_."

"Damn right it was," Maylin giggled. "I just need to remember not to use it for too long or it might drain my energy. I think I'm gonna call it... Oversoul Mode."

"Catchy," Haruka admitted.

"All right, if you two are done, how about we get out of here on the double?" Yuri quipped.

"Yeah, good idea," Maylin stated. "I honestly don't know if the sounds of my little scuffle got the attention of any of these wayward knights, so let's beat it, peoples!"

With that, Yuri walked over to the goddess statue and pushed it aside, revealing a ladder that led down into the sewer area and out into the open just outside the castle.

"Ah, damn it, it's already morning," Yuri groaned. "I seriously wasted an entire night."

"It looks like that passage took us to the royal quarter," Haruka stated.

"Wooooow," Estellise gasped. "Everything looks so different from the windows..."

"Come on, you can't seriously mean that this is your first time outside the castle?" Yuri gawked.

Estellise's stutter made it quite clear that it _was_ her first time out of the castle. Maylin just facepalmed at that fact. "I guess a lady who lives in a castle can't just go for a pleasant mind-clearing walk whenever she wants, huh?" Maylin quipped.

"Y-yes, you're right..." Estellise sighed.

"But hey, at least we made it out of the castle, right?" Yuri quipped even as Estellise walked up and poked Yuri's palm, causing him to laugh slightly.

"W-was that... not right?" Estellise asked.

"Nah, it's fine," Yuri replied. "So, what are you gonna do now that you're out?"

"I'm going to find Flynn," Estellise replied. "He said he was heading off on a knight's pilgrimage."

"Oh, that thing where he goes around the cities of the empire and stacks up good deeds?" Haruka asked.

"Precisely," Estellise answered. "That's why I'm headed to Halure, the City of Blossoms. Halure is always the first stop for knights on their pilgrimage."

"Which means you'll have to go outside the barrier," Yuri noted.

"Have you ever been outside the barrier, Yuri?" Estellise asked.

"Little while back," Yuri answered. "I'd like to go again, but I can't just leave the lower quarter the way it is. Come on, I'll show you the way out of town. It's on the way to the lower quarter."

"Thank you!" Estellise laughed before turning to Maylin and Haruka. "Are you two going to accompany us?"

"Actually, I think it's time we hit the road," Maylin replied. "We're still looking for the jerk who sent that phantom me against us."

"If we're in the neighborhood again and you see any sign of a figure in a black robe, let us know _immediately_ ," Haruka stated. "That chick's a serious piece of bad news."

Estellise reached into the pocket of her dress and handed Maylin a trinket shaped like her heart-shaped shield. "Then at least take this with you," Estellise stated. "I believe it will bring you good luck."

Maylin reached out to accept the trinket and attach it to her keyblade, slashing it through the air to transform it into a new keyblade. This new keyblade had a pink and gold handle, a handle guard shaped like the wings of the goddess statue, a hilt that resembled the fountain of the lower quarter with a blue jewel representing the aqua blastia in the center, a blade shaped like Yuri's sword topped off by the jewel on Estellise's wand, teeth in the shape of a winged heart, and the token connected by a keychain made of five jewels of different colors representing different types of blastia. The words _Blastia Core_ ran through Maylin's head as she studied the weapon.

"Thank you very much, Estelle," Haruka stated.

Estelle would have responded if she wasn't busy musing over the nickname, repeating it over and over as she thought. Yuri saved the two keyblade wielders the trouble by leading Estelle out of the royal quarter while she was still thinking.

"I think she liked the nickname," Maylin laughed.

"It kinda sounds like something Nick would say," Haruka admitted.

"Hey, you know what?" Maylin stated. "How about we drop by and visit Nick when we're done stomping miss hood? It's been too long since we've seen him!"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Haruka responded as she activated the teleporters to bring them back to the Gummi Ship.

"All right, now that we're clear, here's a question," Maylin asked as Haruka began to pilot the Gummi Ship towards the next world that needed them. "What exactly _was_ the deal with that phantom me?! Mariko Kusumi tried the same thing when she made a dark copy of Will and _that_ didn't work either!"

"Yeah, but that was just a dark clone designed to do its master's bidding," Haruka stated. "This one was apparently trying to psych you out for some reason."

"If miss hood's pulling the same shtick the other miss hood pulled, I think we're gonna have to teach her a lesson about trying the same trick twice," Maylin cackled.

"Let's save that for when we actually find her, okay?" Haruka replied. "For the moment, let's just keep questing. Other worlds are waiting."

"That they are," Maylin stated. "All right, fearless pilot leader, lead the way!"

 _To be continued..._

* * *

 _New keyblade acquired!_

 **Blastia Core  
** _Strength:_ **7  
** _Magic:_ **20  
** _Ability:_ **Oversoul Boost**

 _Description:_ A keyblade representing the blastia that powers and protects the world of Terca Lumireis. Boasts incredible magical power and increases the duration of an Oversoul by 25%. Equip more to further increase the duration.

* * *

 _New keyblade acquired!_

 **Stormfall  
** _Strength:_ **13  
** _Magic:_ **23  
** _Ability:_ **Shell  
** _Description:_ A keyblade representing Maylin's magic teacher and everything she taught her in the magic arts. Boasts powerful magic and cuts all magical damage by 50%.

* * *

 _New ability acquired!_

 **Oversoul  
** _Purpose:_ Supercharge your strength or temporarily slow down time for a short while.  
 _Usage:_ Using Oversoul drains your MP gauge. If MP is drained completely, you will be weakened for a short time and MP Charge will last longer.

* * *

On the next episode:

Maylin: Okay, now I've _definitely_ seen everything.

Haruka: What, just because now we're working with a girl who can weaponized paper?

Maylin: Not just that! Now we're fighting evil versions of historical figures like Otto Lilienthal, Gennai Hiraga, and even FREAKIN' BEETHOVEN!

Haruka: Interesting.

Maylin: You're seriously not fazed by this?!

Haruka: Hey, look at all of the worlds we've been to before. I'm kinda just accepting of weirdness now.

Maylin: ...you got that from Nick, didn't you?

Haruka: I know you did, too, goofball.

Maylin: Next time on _W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart ~A Fragmentary Passage~_ , "Read Between the Lines"!

Maylin & Haruka: May your hearts be your guiding key!


End file.
